Genre Awareness in Teaching Writing: A Case Study of Public High School Teachers in Nepal

Abstract

Recent research trends on Teaching English as a Foreign or Second Language (EFL/ESL) have shown that conscious knowledge of the genre-based approach significantly enhances genre awareness in teaching writing in EFL/ESL contexts. This research examines how English language teachers in Nepal strengthen their understanding of genre awareness by integrating genre-based writing activities such as story writing, job application writing, journal writing, email writing, and essay writing within a high school teaching context. Based on the data generated from semi-structured interviews with four teachers and analysis of students’ written artifacts, the study indicates that teachers’ awareness of genre plays a prominent role in enhancing their self-reflection and academic writing skills. This awareness is shown to positively impact their understanding of pedagogical content knowledge and genre-specific writing conventions. However, the findings also demonstrate that the teacher participants possess unconscious familiarity with the genre, especially in terms of writing instruction and analyzing the genre-specific content in classroom teaching, since they appeared to lack awareness of the complex nature of the interactions between their belief systems, real-world classroom practices, and current educational and sociocultural needs. The study suggests that teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge of genres, reflective practices based on the learning achievements of learners, and ongoing genre-based teacher training, including workshops and seminars, should be organized to enhance their conscious awareness and understanding of the intricate nature of genre-based writing instruction.